Some 22 individuals from six residential zones will add “students for a democratic voice” to their names in a move they think will lead to more effective governance that better reflects students’ thoughts.

I’m working on a story now about Amherst housing and the fact that the town passed a law banning more than 4 unrelated people from living in the same house. The real estate companies are posting four bedroom houses that have more than that, and I’m looking for some examples. Anyone out there? Also, check out www.amherstrent.com … tons of 5+ bedrooms with the distance listed from campus. Thoughts?

We at The Collegian have come to a fun realization. The collective knowledge of our audience is much greater than that which we possess. So rather than dictating your news from our ivory tower of objectivity, we’re inviting you to contribute your own thoughts on the stuff you want covered. Unfortunately, we can’t and shouldn’t cover every fashion show and canned food drive this campus has to offer. INSTEAD I am looking for your choice, select and prime bits of the best news. I’m talking corruption and wrongdoing. We’ll get the ball rolling here through your comments and tips.

Amherst College was shocked from its Ivory Tower this past weekend. Then Marcus Smith, a student from the University of Massachusetts, and Issac Cameron, from Amherst College, were involved in an on-campus altercation that left both wounded, according to police documents. The fight was at a dance and was said to be over a girl. Nothing fresh there, but the reaction was anything but. The UMass student allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed the Amherst College student between six and seven times in the abdomen and back. Some eye witnesses said they came together in an embrace, as if calming each other down….

For my piece in tomorrow’s Collegian, I wrote a double profile on two gay men operating in highly traditional environments following their coming out. The story looks at the Gay Rights Movement’s notion that the simple awareness that homosexuals are human and live around us as brothers, friends, teachers etc. will bring about a greater tolerance. Given that one source, Rabbi Steven Greenberg, is the first openly-gay orthrodox rabbi, and the other, Martin Aguilera, is a leader of the Gay Amherst Party, both are living in institutions that are highly uncomfortable with gay men. Finding them was tricky and may…

According to some Western Mass. newspapers, Jason Vassell has been a 23-year-old for about 13 months now. Some say his case is making people think twice about police misconduct even in places so progressive as Amherst. But local media has me looking again at his age. Most reporters, when determining the age of a victim or an assailant (the identity of Vassell in this incident is debated) check for his birthday in an arrest report. After some elementry arithmetic, the age becomes solid fact. The issue came up in the Massachusetts Daily Collegian’s newsroom. We were writing our pieces and…

The inauguration was this past Tuesday; and damn it, The Collegian tried its best to cover it. I was talking to a colleague at the Daily Hoya, of Georgetown, and they couldn’t get photo passes either. So when it comes to the inauguration, you’ll have to take Nick Bush’s words for it. He did a solid job wandering around D.C. taking in the sights and atmosphere. He was almost more excited to be there than the CNN folks. His story will be in the paper on Monday, along with the Amherst reaction to the election and a special article from…

I’m William McGuinness, news editor at The Massachusetts Daily Collegian. We’ve created a number of blogs to inform the campus and beyond on local news and events; but, here, you’ll find posts on how news was reported, corrections to news stories and an explanation on how mistakes were made or stories broken. Expect commentary from reporters and editors and multimedia posts ranging from raw video and audio to completed packages.

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Massachusetts Daily Collegian

"The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is the independent student-operated newspaper at the University of Massachusetts Amherst that has been serving the UMass community since 1890. It is published daily Monday through Thursday during the calendar semester. The Collegian has the most comprehensive print and online coverage of UMass news and campus related events.